Pictures of the Future The Magazine for Research and Innovation | Special Edition: Green Technologies www.siemens.com/pof Tomorrow’s Power Grids How Vehicles, Cities and Alterna- tive Energy Sources will Interact Energy Efficiency Renewable Energy Squeezing Better Results out of Today’s Technologies Solutions for a Sustainable, Low-Carbon Future Pictures of the Future Pictures of the Future | Editorial Contents n recent weeks there have been signs vehicles at night, when electricity is Energy Efficiency Ithat the world may have left the worst of cheaper, and sell it during the day at peak the financial and economic crisis behind — prices. Electric vehicles will also have an and already some people are playing down important stabilizing function. Just a few the causes of the worst crisis in 80 years. hundred thousand electric vehicles con- However, we shouldn't ignore a simple nected to the power grid would provide 66 Scenario 2025 fact: activities aimed exclusively at short- more “balancing power” than Germany Energy-Saving Sleuth term gains don't create long-term value! currently needs to cover its demand peaks. 68 Urban Energy Analysis This is particularly true when it comes The most reliable, cheapest, and most Cities: A Better Energy Picture to climate change. Current efforts to limit environmentally-friendly source of energy 71 Trends: Energy for Everyone warming are based on the expectation that is reduced consumption. That’s why there’s Light at the End of the Tunnel the global community will set course to- a huge need for energy-efficient technolo- 73 World’s Largest Gas Turbine ward a sustainable future. The aim is to im- gies (p. 66-125). Experts expect worldwide Unmatched Efficiency prove the balance between environmental, demand for such technologies to grow by 76 Coal-Fired Power in China economic and social interests. 13 percent annually in the coming decade. Olympic Efficiencies One of the most significant factors af- A large part of our product range is aimed 78 Steam Turbine Materials fecting the achievement of this goal is how at this future market, which could be worth Preparing for a Fiery Future more than €2 trillion by 2020. We provide 82 CO2 Separation the most energy-efficient and high-per- Coal’s Cleaner Outlook formance power plant turbines. We help 85 CO2 Sequestration The Road Toward a our customers to reduce energy consump- Renewable Energy Smart Grids Testing Eternal Incarceration tion in their buildings by as much as 40 88 Power Plant Upgrades percent. We've developed industrial drive New Life for Old Plants Sustainable Future systems that save up to 75 percent of elec- 90 Steel Plants tricity, thus recouping their purchase price 12 Scenario 2030 38 Scenario 2020 Efficiency Catches Fire within 18 months. That’s the positive side The Electric Caravan New World 92 Mining Electrification Peter Löscher is President and CEO of Siemens AG. we deal with energy. Because of population effect of energy-efficient technologies. Be- 14 Solar Energy – Desertec 40 Trends: Tomorrow’s Power Grids Monster Drives growth and increasing prosperity, our cause the customers' energy costs are re- Power from the Deserts Switching on the Vision 94 Airports global energy needs are expected to grow duced, their competitiveness increases. 20 Offshore Wind 44 HVDC Transmission Flight from Carbon Dioxide by 60 percent by 2030. During the same The importance of renewable energy High-Altitude Harvest China’s River of Power 96 Facts and Forecasts period, we must dramatically reduce green- sources will grow considerably in the next 23 Floating Wind Farms 48 Energy Storage More Efficient Buildings house gas emissions. To “square the circle,” 20 years (p. 12-33). According to calcula- Tapping an Ocean of Wind Trapping the Wind 97 Energy Efficient Buildings we need to act quickly and comprehen- tions made by the International Energy 24 Wind Turbines 50 Interview with Dan Arvizu Nature is their Model sively at two levels: We have to generate, Agency and Siemens, in 2030 we will be Recipe for Rotor Blades Director of the U.S. National 100 Intelligent Sensors distribute and use energy more efficiently. harvesting about 13 times more energy 27 Facts and Forecasts Renewable Energy Laboratory When Buildings Come to Life And we must expand the proportion of from wind and 140 times more solar en- Why Renewable Energy is Needed 52 Intelligent Buildings 104 Lamp Life Cycles power generated from renewable energy ergy than we do today. In just six hours, 28 Renewable Resources Plugging Buildings into the Grid Let there be Savings sources. On both of these levels, no other the world’s deserts receive as much energy Energy for Developing Countries 54 Smart Meters 107 UN Emission Certificates company can compete with Siemens. The from the sun as the world's entire popula- 29 Interview Prof. Oberheitmann Transparent Network India’s new Light value of our certified environmental port - tion consumes in a year. Our goal must be Why China Wants to Conserve 56 Virtual Power Plants 108 Interview: Rajendra K. Pachauri folio rose from €19 billion in business year to capture as much of this energy as possi- Energy Power in Numbers Nobel Prize Winner & IPCC Chairman 2008 to €23 billion in 2009. In this special ble and to transport it with as few losses as 30 Interview with Prof. Wan Gang 58 Facts and Forecasts 109 Off-Grid Solutions issue of Pictures of the Future we've assem- possible to the places where it is needed. China’s Minister of Science Growing Demand for Smart Grids New Sources of Hope bled examples from this “green” portfolio. To help achieve this goal, we have made 32 Biomass 60 Electromobility 110 Efficient Appliances One key topic involves the intelligent acquisitions to enhance our leadership in Flaming Scrap From Wind to Wheels Miracle in the Laundry Room electrical networks of the future — so- the area of solar thermal technology. 113 Facts and Forecasts called “smart grids” (p. 38-63). These will Today, Siemens is the only company that The Energy-Efficiency Pay Off enable us to tap and feed in energy at any can offer all of the core technologies for 114 Self-Sufficient Alpine Hut point in the network. They thus represent harvesting and transmitting solar energy Forecasts that Come Home Cover: Siemens recently completed a vital step on the road to a future system from a single source. This underscores our 116 Combined Heat and Power construction of the world’s largest of power generation that will be much claim to be the leading technology partner Sections How to Own a Power Plant offshore wind farm 30 km from the more diversified and decentralized. in the Desertec project. Here, the aim is to 117 Energy Storage Danish coast. Outfitted with 91 Smart grids will also open the door to improve the energy supply in North Africa 4 Interviews and Facts 134 Crisis and Climate Protection Piggybanks for Power turbines, Horns Rev II will pump a society based on zero-emission electric while covering 15 to 20 percent of Europe's Dr. Steven Chu Engines of Tomorrow’s Growth 118 Rail Transport 210 MW of electrical power into vehicles (p. 60). These vehicles will be more energy needs from wind and solar power Prof. Hans Joachim Schellnhuber 164 Venture Capital: Green Dwarfs High-Speed Success Story Denmark’s grid — enough to supply than just a means of transportation. They plants in the Mediterranean region by the The Sources of Greenhouse Gases 126 Environmental City Studies 121 Rail System Life Cycles over 136,000 households. Advanced will be smart, mobile energy storage units middle of this century. We will do our share 8 Siemens Environmental Portfolio London: Shrinking Footprints Timely Trains sensing will minimize maintenance. that will even generate income for their to ensure that this “Apollo project of the Climate Change is Powering Growth Munich: A CO2-Free City 124 Vienna owners, who will be able to recharge their 21st century” becomes a reality. A Model of Mobility 2 Pictures of the Future Special Edition on Green Technologies | Fall 2009 Pictures of the Future Special Edition on Green Technologies | Fall 2009 3 Interview | Hans Joachim Schellnhuber In his report, British economist Sir Nicholas marine life would also have to adapt. Second, Are greater efficiency and renewable What can a global company like Siemens think there’s a good chance that policy in Wash- Stern warns that the world economy is in the atmosphere would be more heavily laden energy enough? do about the climate challenge? ington will change. The U.S. probably won’t danger. Stern says the concentration of with water vapor and energy, resulting in in- Schellnhuber: Not on their own. In particu- Schellnhuber: German companies have the sign up to the Kyoto Protocol, but it could end greenhouse gases in the atmosphere creasingly violent storms. Third, the variation lar, we’re going to have to use carbon seques- strengths needed to cope with climate change. up setting similar targets. The U.S. might must be kept below 550 parts per million in precipitation patterns would become more tration. That means whenever carbon is com- Don’t forget, people used to poke fun at Ger- change as Europe has. Here, many people did- (ppm) if global warming is to be limited extreme, meaning even less rain in places busted, the CO2 must be captured rather than mans because of our concern for the environ- n’t want to recognize warming. They thought to a maximum of two to three degrees where there is already little rainfall, and vice being emitted into the atmosphere. This is ment. But our industry can help launch a new there would be another 50 years to go before Celsius.